Alright brethren, let's turn
in our Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians 2. Let's begin reading in verse
13. For this calls also, thank we
God without ceasing, Because when you received the Word of
God which you heard of us, you received it not as the Word of
men, but as it is in truth the Word of God. which effectually
worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers
of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like
things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews,
who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have
persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to
all men. forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always,
for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost." Now Paul begins
here and he says, for this cause also we thank God without ceasing. Paul had suffered much at the
hand of the unbelieving Jews, but he didn't focus on that.
He focused on what the Lord had done for his people. We should always thank God for
our brethren. You know, brethren are a gift from God
and they're given to help comfort one another, they're given to encourage and be there for one
another, and they're a dear gift God's given us. And that's what
he's thanking. He's thanking God for them, for
the Word working effectually in them. Now, first of all, it's
God we must thank. He says there, And for this cause
also thank we God without ceasing. It's God we must thank because
all blessings come from God. The preacher has nothing to boast
in. He has nothing to glory in. The word is of God. The word
we preach is of God. The heart to preach is of God. The labor is of God. The message
given is of God. the brethren to whom we preach
is of God. Even to have access into God's
throne, His throne room, to thank Him, even that access is of God,
through Christ our high priest, through His blood. So everything
is of God. We have to thank God and give
thanks always. And we do so always, always. Don't ever forget, you know,
we ask the Lord for blessings. But don't ever forget to thank
Him for the blessings. To thank Him for those things.
And each time a brother or sister comes to mind, thank God for
them. Thank God for them. Just whenever
somebody comes to your mind that believes the gospel, thank God
for them. This is so, brethren, being one
with each other and we thank God for one another if we're
in this congregation or in another faithful congregation. Because
we're not in competition. Preachers aren't in competition,
not faithful preachers, and God's people aren't. We're one. We're
one. Look over at 1 Corinthians 1.
The church at Corinth had a problem with this thing of preferring one over another,
and this is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1-12. Now this
I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of
Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. They favored these
different preachers, and said this is how I was born under
this preacher. He said, is Christ divided? Was
Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Look over at chapter 3 and verse 3. He said, for you're yet carnal,
for whereas there is envying, among you in strife and divisions,
are you not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith,
I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal?
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom
you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted,
Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither
is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but
God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one. We're one. This is so of all
our brethren. God's preachers and all our brethren
are one. We're one. Born of the same spirit,
believe in the same gospel, whether it's in this congregation or
one on the other side of the world. And we thank God without
ceasing because it's all of Him. It's all of Him. Corinth wasn't
the only church that had problems. Thessalonians had problems right
away. The church at Philippi, the church
at Rome, that was the case then and it's always been the case
and it will always be the case. But that's one of the ways God
manifests those that he has approved. This is one of the ways he teaches
his people. Trouble through trouble, through
suffering. That's how God proved that he had worked affectionately
in them. They continued to believe in
the gospel, even under the suffering. Those troubles weighed on Paul,
but he focused on the fact that they believed and they continued.
That's encouraging. The other is discouraging, but
that's encouraging. And we thank God for this. Now
secondly, let's see what they did, why he thanked God for them.
Verse 13, he said, Because when you received the Word of God
which you heard of us, you received it not as the Word of men, but
as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh
also in you that believe. Paul thanked them because they
received the Word of God. There are two words here. Receive
is used back to back here. You received the word of God
which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men. Those
are two totally different Greek words. The first one means to
hear with the ear. It means to hear with readiness
of mind. In other words, they came to
where the gospel was preached, like you've come in here today,
and they were eager to hear the gospel preached. That's why they
came. And they came listening, and they went and studied the
word they heard preached. They wanted to hear. They wanted
to learn. They received the word. It's common when people hear
the word preached, rather than to receive it and take time to
search for scriptures, they immediately start asking questions. And the
questions usually aren't about what was preached, but about
other things. Well, what about this? What about
that? What about the other? You know, you take a father,
he's leading his child down a road and he comes to, let's say, a
little tree. And he begins to teach his son
about that little tree, what kind of tree it is and how it
produces acorns when it grows up or whatever. He's talking
to him about that tree. If the child's running ahead
and says, well, what about this tree? What about these berries
over here? What about this over here? He
won't learn about what the father's teached him right then. And that's
what's happening every time the Gospels are preached. The Lord
is teaching us something right now. Focus on what He's teaching
right now. That's what they did. They received
what Paul came preaching and they looked into the Scriptures
to see if these things were so. That's what they did. It takes
God's grace to humble us and to make us hear His Word and
receive it in this way and wait on God to teach us. He has to
humble us to do it. And then they were made willing
to hear and they received it. They received it. When you receive
the Word of God which you heard of us, you received it. The second
word there means to embrace, to believe. They came in with
a ready mind and heard it. And God gave them faith to believe
it. And they embraced the Lord Jesus. They laid hold of Christ.
Why did they do that? He said, verse 13, ìYou receive
not the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God,
which effectually worketh also in you that believe.î You receive
not the word of men. Men were preaching. Men were
preaching, but it ceased being the word of men, and they heard
the word of God as it is in truth. Now God's going to use the means
of preaching. He uses men to preach. That's
why I sent Paul and Silas and Timothy there. But most hear
the gospel. and they just hear it as the
opinion of the man who's preaching. And it's just one opinion among
thousands to them. And most don't even believe that
the Word is the Word of God, the Word that's being preached.
What Word, whose Word, are you hearing right now? Are you hearing
God's Word? It is in truth God's Word, and
we have to be made to hear it as God's Word. Sometimes Folks
will hear, and they'll hear the word preached, and they'll begin
to oppose by saying, well, Pastor so-and-so said it this way on
the same scripture. That's receiving the word as,
well, that's just your opinion. This was this other preacher's
opinion. God's preachers are not giving our opinions, and
we're not in competition or saying things different than the other
is saying. This is what the Lord said. One of the same Spirit,
preaching by the same Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus said,
Thy watchman shall lift up the voice, with the voice together
shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord
shall bring against thine. We're speaking the same gospel.
We're preaching the same word. It's not our opinion. It's the
gospel. It's the word of God. But it's
not the word of any man that saves. That's not what saves. It's the word of God. As long
as we're hearing only the preacher, and as long as we think it's
only the preacher's word, and as long as it's just one opinion
among thousands. That's to hear carnally. That's
not to hear in spirit. The blessing comes when the Spirit
of God makes us hear this word as the word of our Lord speaking. He's the only one that can do
this, to speak into your heart. Listen to what our Lord said.
In John 6.63, He said, is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh
profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. We can't just walk in a
building, sit down and hear the gospel. We can't. The first prophet is nothing.
It has to be the Spirit of God working in us, making us hear,
making us believe, making us rejoice in Christ. That's when
we stop regarding the Word of God as the opinion of a man and
it becomes the Word of God in our hearts. The Word of God in
our hearts. That's when we stop judging the
Word by our opinion and our prejudice that we bring to it, and that's
when the Word starts judging us. That's what happens. Until
a man is born of God, he's judging everything he's hearing. and
refusing it, because he doesn't believe it's God's Word. But
when God's Word speaks to the heart, it effectively makes the
Word judge us. That's when we find out we are
the sinner. That's when we find out there's nothing good in us,
and Christ must be all. That's when we believe every
word as being the Word of God Himself. The Word is the Gospel,
we pray. It's the power of God. It is
the power of God. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the
Gentile. These Thessalonians were Gentiles.
The Jews had heard the gospel and God had given some of them
faith, but here's some Gentiles. And God gave them faith to believe
the gospel is the power of God. The world thinks the gospel is
foolishness to them. It is foolishness to them. But
to us it's the power of God. It is the power of God. It's
not the power of persuasion by a man that makes us believe.
That's not what makes a sinner truly believe. If a person has
been persuaded by God, he can't be unpersuaded by man. And that's
what we want. We want it to be by the power
of God. Some will look at the multitudes who don't believe
and they'll say, well, there's proof right there God's word
doesn't work effectively. Look at how many people don't
follow the gospel, don't believe on Christ. That doesn't prove
that God doesn't work affectionately. You take two men sitting in a
congregation, both hearing the same word, one of them sitting
there and he's unaffected and he says, well this is not the
word of God, this is just the word of a man. He doesn't work
affectionately through his word. You got another man sitting there
who's rejoicing in Christ and got big old tears in his eyes
because the word's speaking right to his heart. What does that
prove? It only proves that the one unaffected
had never experienced the power of God. That's what it proves. What if some did not believe,
Paul said? Shall their unbelief make the
faith of God without effect? Does that mean God's not been
effectual to save his people? God forbid. God forbid. Let God be true and ever man
a liar. God works effectually, and that's how we're made to
see our sin. You think about this. There is no sinner. This
is the nature of sin. This is the nature of sin. It's
self-righteous. And there's no sinner who of
himself will truly from the heart confess that he is nothing but
sin. Unable, unwilling, incapable. There is nobody who will confess
that in truth from a heart that's been made new, except God make
it new. God make it new. We have to have
the Word work effectually in us. And the only way we will
cast all our care on the Lord Jesus Christ and believe on Him
is if God makes Christ unto us wisdom. Gives us the mind of
Christ to understand and discern the Word. Makes Christ our righteousness
so we see we're complete in Him. Makes Christ our sanctification
so that we see we're separated in Him. That's how we were separated
out from this world. May Christ our redemption who
freed us by His power and His grace. That's the only way we'll
believe on Christ, that He's all our salvation. It's all our
salvation. It's God working effectually
in us by the Word. And it's that same power, that
same Gospel, that same Word working in us that keeps us persevering
in faith. This is why we come to hear the
Gospel. It's the power of God unto salvation. We have to hear
the Gospel. We need it more than we need
our everyday bread. That's what the Scriptures say.
That's what, I believe it was Job said that. I need it more
than my necessary bread. I need it. I need it. So that's why Paul thanked God.
This was all of God. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from above. That's why we thank God. We must
thank God. Now lastly, I want you to see here a contrast in
those whom the Word of God worked and those in whom it had no place. There's some in Thessalonica
that heard it and received it by the power of God, and there's
some that didn't. Now look at the difference here.
He said, verse 14, For you, brethren, became followers of the churches
of God, which in Judea among the Jews are in Christ Jesus.
For you also have suffered like things of your own customer,
even as they have of the Jews. I think this is A good lesson
right here. As soon as the brethren at Thessalonica,
as soon as God saved them, they suffered immediately. They began
to suffer. The men were persecuting them,
but it was God who ruled it. It was God who sent it. The life
of a believer, the life of faith, the trial of your faith, It's
one big trial. From beginning to end, a life
of faith is a trial. And a trial is a test. That's
what it is. A test. God is proving some things
by the trial. He said in another place, there
must needs be heresies among you that they which are approved
may be made manifest. Approved of God. Approved of
God. When it's the real thing, born
of God, given faith by God. And also God's proving something
to us by the trial. He's proving to us that in and
of ourselves we can do nothing. But he's also proven to us that
we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That's
what he's teaching us in every one of them. And when this happens,
don't think God's just singling you out. Don't think he's just
singling out this congregation and not another congregation.
That's what the devil wants you to think. Oh, you're just suffering.
Nobody else is suffering like you're suffering. Apostle Peter
said, the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren
that are in the world. He told them, you must need to
suffer. You must need to suffer. Christ
said, in this world you shall have tribulation. It's just how
it's going to be. It's just how it's going to be.
But notice here, these unbelieving Gentiles, they didn't know those
unbelieving Jews. But all around Thessalonica was
a religious place, but it was idols they worshipped. But these
unbelieving Gentiles, they didn't know the unbelieving Jews in
Judea, but they treated those believing Gentiles just like
the unbelieving Jews treated the believing Jews. without knowing
each other, without one influencing the other. The Gentiles hated
Christ and hated the Gospel and persecuted these Gentile believers
the same as those Jewish unbelievers did in Judea. That's what he
said, you suffered like things of your own countrymen even as
they, the Jewish believers, have of the Jews. You know, unregenerate
folks love to think that they've made themselves to differ from
other folks. It's what you hear every day. We live in a day when everybody's
got a label. Everybody has a label. Psychiatry
is known for this. Label people. And you read the
description of what fits under the label, and it could just
about fit anybody. But there's labels. Everybody's
got labels. And if one group does something
wrong, the rest just pile on that one group. And it makes
everybody have this feeling of superiority. over the other. I'm not like that group. And
this is so individually. This is so individually. But
the fact is, and what we see right here is, there's no difference
in sinners. There is no difference in unregenerate
sinners. Each worship the God of self
and each hate the God of the Bible. That's just so. There's no difference for all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The same poison
of asps that's under the Gentile's tongue is under the Jew's tongue. The same enmity against God is
in every man's carnal mind. There's no difference. There's
no difference. The enmity manifests itself pretty
much the same in all two. Look here in verse 15. Who both,
Jew and Gentile, killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets
and persecuted us, and they pleased not God, and are contrary to
all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might
be saved, to fill up their sins always, for the wrath is come
upon them to the uttermost. He said here, they crucified
Christ. Unregenerate folks may say they
believe on a Jesus, but it's not the true Lord Jesus. It says there that they rejected
their own prophets and persecuted Paul and Silas and Timothy. The
Lord stood before the Pharisees and they were saying this, if
we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been
partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. They built the
sepulchers of the dead prophets that had been killed and they
put flowers on their graves while they rejected the Lord Jesus
Christ and His ministers that He had sent right then to them.
And the Lord said, by saying that, you are witnesses unto
yourselves that you are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Brethren, Brother Henry used to say this all the time, beware
of men who are constantly praising dead preachers while rejecting
living faithful preachers. Beware of that. And for preachers,
this is what preachers ought to remember too. That dead preacher
that a man's praising, that faithful dead preacher that a man's praising,
when he was alive, people were doing to him the exact same thing,
rejecting him and praising dead preachers that came before him.
That's the way of unregenerate man. That's the way of unregenerate
man. The unbelieving Jews try to forbid
Paul from preaching to these Gentiles. Have you ever had anybody
try to forbid you to speak to them or to their children? That's
what they did. They didn't want him preaching
to these Gentiles. Can you imagine that? That would
be like if a man's drowning And you said, no, no, no, don't try
to save him. Let him drown. There's no difference. No different than saying that.
But also notice this, grace works the same in God's people too. Not in the same measure, not
in the same gifts, but it's the same God working the same grace
in all His people. Jew or Gentile. When that word
came effectually, those Gentiles in Thessalonica, they didn't
know those churches in Judea, they didn't know those brethren
in Judea, but they began following them. when they heard the gospel,
they began following Christ just like they did. And they endured
the suffering that they went through just like those Jewish
believers did. Why? Because it's the same grace
working in His people. We're saved by the same Lord
Jesus Christ, and it's the same Spirit of God that's working
in all His people, giving us one faith, one faith to trust
the Lord Jesus Christ. I went down to Mexico, been down
there several times, God's saints in Mexico, they don't know you
sitting here. But they speak just like you
speak about Christ. They rejoice in the same message
you rejoice in just like Christ. And they're rejected by their
family and their friends and their neighbors just like you
are. Just like you are. But they continue coming and
hear the gospel and believe in God because the same grace of
God's working in them is working in you. That's a beautiful thing
to see here. The way that Paul puts that,
it shows you there was no difference in those unregenerate Jewish
Gentiles. They responded the same. But
when grace came into the heart, that you and Gentile responded
the same. Believed on Christ, followed Christ, endured the
suffering. And so this is why Paul says, we thank God without
ceasing. Because when you receive the
word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which
effectually worketh also in you that believe. I don't think I
preach with the same style, I guess you would say,
as I used to. I probably won't ever. But that's
not the blessing. That's not the blessing. Some are like sons of Zebedee
or sons of thunder. Others may be calm and quiet
when they preach. That's not what's going to work
effectually. When God speaks, that word comes in power into
the heart. And it doesn't matter who the
one preaching is. All he is anyway is a voice.
That's what John said. They came to him and said, Are
you the Christ? He said, I'm not. I'm just a voice. I'm just
a voice crying in the wilderness. Crying in the wilderness. But
that voice, that you hear in your heart is Christ speaking
into the heart. And the response in whoever He
speaks, it's going to be the same. Affectionately working
in us, make us bow to Him. All right, brethren, we'll take
a break. Our great God and our Father,
we thank You for this Word. We pray, Lord, You would work
affectionately in our hearts, work affectionately and make
us endure give us strength to endure, give us confidence in
none but Christ. And Lord, we thank you. We do
thank you for our brethren. We thank you for how you've worked
in your people, called them out and continue to speak to the
heart of your people. Thank you for brethren. Lord,
most of all, we thank you for our Lord Jesus. We thank you
that You receive us in Him. You made us knowing. You sent
the gospel to us. Gave us the spirit to believe.
And You receive us in Him, giving us His righteousness freely.
Lord, we thank You. We have cause to thank Thee and
Thee only. All is of You. All is of You. Let us remember, Lord. Help us to remember all through
each day, everything is of Your hand. And make us to be thankful
in everything. Lord, make us to thank You without
ceasing. Lord, we thank You for forgiveness
of sin. We have a fountain open that
we can come to and plunge into. It washes us clean. Thank you for our Lord Jesus.
It's in His precious name we pray. Amen.